Research: Corinth Region Update

So, I’ve finished a preliminary map for the region I’ve been working on – in includes Aegina, Corinth, Megara, Nemea, Salamis, and Sicyon – which individually are all pretty big names in mythology, but none of them were really big alliance-builders. Corinth, Megara, and Sicyon all came close several times but… I don’t know.

For all their influence, I think they got stepped on a lot. They may have controlled a fair amount of trade across the Isthmus, but everyone who marched an army through that area stepped on them as they went across. Generally speaking, I don’t think they had enough land area to consolidate power, but that’s just me.

As with everything else, I’ve only been researching the area from a geographical and/or mythological standpoint, and trying to think about the place in terms of game balance and all that. Actually, one of the cool things that sets the Corinth-Megara-Sicyon (CMS?) region apart is that it boasts a rare new settlement.

The town of Tenea was said to have been settled by numerous captives and slaves from the Trojan War. That’ll be kind of a big deal, because if you think about it – it’s one of the newest settlements in the region, nay, the world essentially settled by Trojan slaves and refugees. It might not have history, but it’ll certainly have drama.

[cue evil laughter]

Actually, drama should be a recurring theme for this region, since the founder of Corinth is the infamous Sisyphus (see also: denizens of Tartarus). The region also boasts the most actual coastline-included-in-its-area of any region I’ve made so far. Which is to say the only actual coastline I’ve included in a region.

For interpreting Catan rules, I’ve been using those little coastal port-thingies to generally account for valuable trade routes. I’d have included those in my notes already, but each region is subject to change as I fill in more of the surrounding regions. My region notes now span something like thirty pages. *sheepish*

It’s important to note that despite the time investment, I am actually making lots of headway on stuff. The general idea was to create a foundation for stories and simplify myths and legends so they could easily be incorporated into actual gameplay, and that’s exactly what I’ve managed to do so far. I’m adding stuff to everything I map.

Eventually, this won’t really be Greek mythology anymore, but having some kind of understanding of the myths will be to a player’s advantage. Familiar, but new.